Your daily resource for creating intentional change in your life

04/21/2010

Spring Cleaning Week: Moving List

I mentioned yesterday that I have moved quite often in the last decade. Moving frequently has its positive and negative aspects; one of the positives is a tendency to keep my life clutter free. Leo of mnmlist has a unique take on cleaning for those who don't move quite as often as I do.

He asks a wonderful question: if you had to move today, what would you take? Not "If you had two weeks to plan and a moving company and all your friends, what would you take?" Rather, "You have twenty four hours to pack and move whatever you can."

Part of mixing it up is asking yourself hard questions because otherwise you're just doing things for the sake of doing them rather than examining what makes your life more or less authentic. This is a hard question to answer for precisely that reason -- what do you own that makes you you, and what do you own simply because you don't want to offend someone or you think that everyone is supposed to have a certain item?

Conversely, this doesn't mean that you can't own anything! If you love to cook you might choose to pack your mixing bowls, measuring cups, and pots and pans first because cooking is an essential part of who you are. I am a voracious reader, so while my clothes might get left behind I would definitely be filling cardboard boxes with my extensive library. Irreplaceable photographs would be a must as well. Most of my furniture, however, I could leave -- although the beautiful carved cedar chest my parents bought me when I was young would be one of the first things in the truck.

So today, mix it up and make a list of what you would take if you had to move today. Then, if you care to, look at what didn't make the list, and ask yourself why. Whether or not you use this information to aid in your cleaning is up to you! And please share your lists in the comments; I'd love to see what other people find crucial.